KOLKATA: Former Chief Justice of India UU Lalit said the judiciary had faced instances of challenge and attempts at interference but dealt with these appropriately to ensure its independence.
He said in order to have a thriving democracy, one must have an independent judiciary because it was through dispute resolution that society was assured of governance by the rule of law.
“There are various challenges that the judiciary has to face today,” he said, asserting, “Therefore, we have to be strong as a judicial fraternity… We must bear every kind of pressure, onslaught or any kind of interference.”
Speaking at a symposium on ‘Independent judiciary: Critical for a vibrant democracy’ held by the Bharat Chamber of Commerce here on Saturday evening, he said there had been instances of court decisions subjected to executive interference, but these were appropriately dealt with, ensuring the independence of the judiciary.
The former CJI said attributes of independence of the judiciary were impartiality, fairness in action, reasonableness and complete integrity for the purpose of dispute resolution.
Noting that the “citadel never falls except from within”, the former CJI said it was the expression with which the district judiciary was to be protected.
Lalit said the district judiciary was not under the control of anybody except the high court in the state.
“All their postings, promotions, appointments and even transfers are supposed to be only at the recommendation of the high courts,” he said.
Holding there should be no outside interference with the functioning of the judiciary, he said a number of articles in the Constitution ensuref there was no interference in the functioning of every individual judge or the judiciary in general.
The former CJI said the judiciary was strong enough to deal with any kind of external onslaught from any force.
Supreme Court judge Justice Hima Kohli said the independence of the judiciary was not just a principle but a moral imperative. “The relevance of an independent judiciary cannot be overstated, especially in a country like ours which is not just a democratic republic; it has been described in the Constitution as a sovereign, socialist, secular and democratic republic,” she said.